John Gale (17 April 1831 – 15 July 1929) was the founder of the Queanbeyan Age, the first newspaper to serve Queanbeyan District. However Gale is mostly remembered for his strong advocacy of Queanbeyan -
CanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth largest Australian city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
as the ideal site of a future Australian Capital. With Canberra's selection as the site of Australia's National Capital in 1911, Gale was later credited as the Father of Canberra.
John Gale was born in
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,
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,
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in 1831 and educated at
MonmouthMonmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire...
Grammar School. He was apprenticed to the printing trade in 1846 and whilst learning this trade also completed his training to be a missionary. John Gale arrived in
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
,
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in 1854 as a
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missionary (probationary minister). He covered a wide missionary circuit, which included the town of Queanbeyan in southern NSW.
A condition for all missionaries, like Gale, was to remain single during their mission term as the cost of paying for the upkeep of a home and paying for a stipend to support a familiy was more than the church could afford. Gale was never ordained as a minister, choosing instead to marry Loanna Wheatley in January 1897 at Waggalallah NSW, which was a few miles out of
Gunning-Surname:* Carmel Gunning, Traditional Irish musician* Elizabeth Campbell, 1st Baroness Hamilton , born Elizabeth Gunning, UK socialite* Maria Coventry, Countess of Coventry , born Maria Gunning, UK socialite...
. Loanna was the daughter of an ordained Methodist Minister the Reverend John Weatley who was responsible for overseeing John Gale's mission.
With the arrival of Annie Mercy, the first of Loanna and John Gale's eleven children, John Gale planned for his future. Money was needed to provide food and shelter for his family and to start a business he would need money for equipment and business premises. John Gale's education in journalism and religion provided him with the skills to teach and he soon had a paid position. John Gale also wrote to his elder brother Peter, Francis, a photographer living in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and asked if he would emigrate to Australia and bring a printing press and assist in starting a newspaper business in Queanbeyan. Peter, Francis and family obliged and accompanied by a printing press sailed for
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
where they were met by John Gale and his family. The brothers and their families then traveled to Queanbeyan where on September 15, 1860 they produced their first newspaper. The newspaper was initially called
The Golden AgeGolden Age refers to a mythological period of primeval human existence perceived as an ideal state when human beings were pure and free from suffering....
after the gold that was discovered locally but within four years the gold was gone and in 1864 the paper's name was changed to
The Queanbeyan AgeThe Queanbeyan Age is a weekly newspaper based in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia. First published on the 15th September, 1860 by John Gale and his brother, Peter Francis Gale, The Golden Age, as it was known at the time, was the first newspaper of the small township on the banks of the...
.
Advocate
John Gale was a strong advocate for making the
CanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth largest Australian city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
- Queanbeyan district Australia's capital city. John Gale wrote in his newspapers and his book Canberra History & Legends (page 5) that on Christmas Day, 1855 he rode his horse across the Limestone Plains to Kurrajong Hill (now called Capital Hill where the new Parliament House is built) when he had a "prophetic inspiration"
"... with the mountains to the south and to the east and the shimmer from the river, the scene invoked a mental, if not a vocal, exclamation: What a magnificent sight for one of Australia's future cities!"
On June 11, 1900 John Gale with 11 other local men gave evidence to the New South Wales Royal Commissioner, Mr Alexander Oliver, proposing that the Queanbeyan -
CanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth largest Australian city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
site be the site for the Federal Capital City. Commissioner Oliver had been appointed to examine and report to the NSW Parliament on the suitability of all the proposed sites for a National Capital – Oliver favored Dalgety and rejected Canberra.
In 1904 the Federal Government passed a Bill naming
DalgetyDalgety may refer to:*Dalgety, New South Wales, a town in the Monaro Region of New South Wales, Australia*Dalgety Bay, a town in Fife, Scotland*Dalgety plc, a former British trading company...
as the Federal Capital site. NSW strongly objected. On 10 July 1907 Sir John Forrest, former Western Australian Premier, tabled his Report: "An Unique Site for the Federal City", as a formal minute in the House of Representatives in Melbourne. It contained “nine factors” each glorifying
DalgetyDalgety may refer to:*Dalgety, New South Wales, a town in the Monaro Region of New South Wales, Australia*Dalgety Bay, a town in Fife, Scotland*Dalgety plc, a former British trading company...
and belittling
CanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth largest Australian city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. Some members of the NSW and Federal Parliaments approached John Gale and asked him to deal with Sir John’s Report. The result – Gale’s now famous paper "Dalgety or Canberra Which?" Gale read his paper on 24 July 1907 in Queanbeyan at a Public Meeting where the residents of Queanbeyan District dissented from the Commonwealth Parliament's choice of
DalgetyDalgety may refer to:*Dalgety, New South Wales, a town in the Monaro Region of New South Wales, Australia*Dalgety Bay, a town in Fife, Scotland*Dalgety plc, a former British trading company...
. Queanbeyan Mayor Hinksman ordered that Gale’s paper be printed and copies sent to every member of the seven Parliaments and other influential people. Gale’s paper with its “nine factors” of logic and indisputable facts put
DalgetyDalgety may refer to:*Dalgety, New South Wales, a town in the Monaro Region of New South Wales, Australia*Dalgety Bay, a town in Fife, Scotland*Dalgety plc, a former British trading company...
in the background.
In 1907 former Prime Ministers
George ReidSir George Houstoun Reid, GCB, GCMG, KC was an Australian politician, Premier of New South Wales and fourth Prime Minister of Australia....
and
J.C. WatsonJohn Odin Wentworth Watson is an Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate from 1978 to 2008, representing the state of Tasmania...
spoke strongly in favour of Canberra in Parliament. Sir John Forrest MP (Premier of Western Australia) who was a vocal opponent against the Canberra site said later it was John Gale's pamphlet Dalgety or Canberra Which? that won the day for [Canberra]] as the best site and made him changed his vote in favour of Canberra. Eventually Canberra was chosen as the site of Australia's National Capital in 1908.
Recognition
Sir Austin Chapman declared at the first Canberra land sales auction, “... if any man were entitled to be known as the Father of Canberra, it was veteran Queanbeyan journalist John Gale”. Charles Studdy Daley quoted Sir Austin Chapman's words in his articles in the Canberra Times in the 1960s and also in his book, "As I Recall" and also wrote in the same publications, “... John Gale lived to see his vision realized when he attended the opening of Parliament in Canberra in 1927, and was presented to Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of York ... who would wish to dispute his right to be acknowledged as the 'Father of Canberra'”.
AK Murray a pioneer of the District and editor of Canberra'a 'Federal Pioneer Magazine' (1920s) also verified that Sir Austin Chapman had acknowledged to him that Gale was entitled to be named the Father of Canberra.
A bronze sculpture memorial of
John GaleJohn Gale may refer to:* John Gale , British Baptist theologian* John Gale , Australian editor and founder of the Queanbeyan Age* John Gale , Filipino contemporary B-movie director, actor...
- Father of Canberra, is installed on the corner of Monaro, Lowe Streets/ Farrer Place, on the Queanbeyan Courthouse site. Created by artist Peter Corlett, the sculpture was unveiled in March 2001 by Heritage-culture Arts Promotions Inc., (HAPI) a not-for-profit community organization. The Memorial recognizes the contributions of John Gale and the Queanbeyan District community who lobbied for and helped in the construction of the national capital
CanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth largest Australian city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
.
On 24 July 2007
Queanbeyan High SchoolQueanbeyan High School is a New South Wales Government School situated in a large service centre just beyond the limits of the Australian Capital Territory...
students created and presented a play titled John Gale's Vision - Dalgety or Canberra Which? The students performance commemorated the centenary of John Gale’s pamphlet, 1907-2007, which turned the tide in favour of Canberra being chosen as the Federal Capital City site.